


Baby Doll

by ShellyNelsonLahey



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Brief Pop Tate, F/M, Jeronica, Jeronica slow dance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:49:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28763595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShellyNelsonLahey/pseuds/ShellyNelsonLahey
Summary: Veronica Lodge is back from the dance, too exhausted to go to Cheryl Blossom’s afterparty. But thankfully she has one last dance in her as she spots Jughead in a booth at Pop’s, and convinces him to sway with her in the middle of Pop’s Chock’Lit Shoppe to Gene Kelly’s outtake of Baby Doll.
Relationships: Jughead Jones & Veronica Lodge, Jughead Jones/Veronica Lodge, jughead jones x veronica lodge
Comments: 10
Kudos: 51
Collections: Two Drifters





	Baby Doll

**Author's Note:**

  * For [butterccup](https://archiveofourown.org/users/butterccup/gifts).



> The song is on YouTube, just look up “Baby Doll by Gene Kelly” and it should be the first to pop up. It’s absolutely beautiful and definitely a song they would slow dance to.

Cheryl Blossom had invited Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge to an afterparty, but if Veronica was anything like Cheryl was back in New York, she knew it wouldn’t be _just_ an afterparty. It was going to end dramatically, and that was something she had been trying to avoid since she arrived in Riverdale. Besides, she was absolutely starving and her high heels were killing her. Right now, all she wanted was some hot, fresh, salty fries, and a chocolate milkshake from Pop’s. Pulling open the door, she inhaled the delectable scents of fries, burgers, hot dogs, and sighed contentedly.

“Princess get bored of the ball?” Snapping her head to greet Jughead’s humorous smirk, he gently closed his laptop and attempted to discreetly check out her dress.

Veronica walked over to his table and pouted playfully, “I was very upset that you weren’t there. I looked for you pretty much the entire time.”

A flash of shock zipped through Jughead’s features. She was looking for him, and wanted him to be there at the dance? He had never thought anybody would care enough to _want_ him there. “Really? I’m sorry, Veronica. I should’ve told you… I don’t like dances. I’ve been here all evening, writing.”

“Oh well.” She breathed out deeply, letting it go. “Oh, and since you’re so interested in how good I look in my dress, it’s a strapless Jacquard sheath dress made by a dear friend from New York, Adelyn Rae.”

Jughead chuckled, nervously rubbing the back of his neck as he realized he’d been caught when he had checked her out as she walked into Pop’s. “Can you blame me? You look… _God_ … you look absolutely beautiful, Veronica. Archie’s a lucky guy.”

“Me going with Archie was not the plan. I was trying to get Betty to buck up and ask him out, and she freaks and adds me into the mix. It was a nice gesture, but, honestly, I'd rather have been with you.” Veronica paused, unsure how he’d feel about her saying that. As soon as he had looked up at her with surprise, she played it off with a, “because you owe me a dance.”

“I owe you a dance?” Jughead raised his eyebrows humorously. “Since when?”

“Since I spent all of the dance looking for you.” Veronica pouted, taking off her high heels with a grateful groan. “God, these are killing me…”

“I’m not dressed for a dance.”

“You don’t have to be!” Veronica rolled her eyes, “i’m going to ask Pop if I can put on a song over the speakers, and we’re going to dance to it. Got it?”

Jughead shook his head, unsure. “I don’t know, Veronica… I've basically got two left feet.” He was petrified that her standards were too high and he wasn’t going to be able to meet them, and would therefore make a fool of himself and then ruin her night. He could tell how much it meant to her. But her demanding demeanor was pretty enticing to him, and he felt compelled to just let her have this moment.

“All I want is a nice, sweet, simple slow dance, and after, i’ll buy dinner.”

“Well, what are you waiting for, put on the song!” Jughead urged, a little too eagerly just so he could see her laugh. “Boy, do you know how to get what you want. Is it, like, a superpower you have, or something?”

Veronica leaned against the counter, but turned her head to smirk back at him. “Or something.”

Pop had overheard their conversation and smiled knowingly. “I’ll click play when you two kids are ready.”

Veronica grinned thankfully, and joined Jughead in the aisle between the booths and tables. Jughead saved his work hastily, closed his laptop, and stepped out of the booth anxiously, wringing his fingers as he once again brought his eyes over Veronica’s figure. She looked absolutely breathtaking, while he was the personification of a trash bag.

She smiled gently in encouragement. “It’s okay. All we’re really doing is swaying back and forth.”

Nodding shortly, he listened to her and tenderly rested his hands on her hips. He gulped, taking notice of him being so close to her he could smell her minty breath mixing with her fruity perfume, and that his fingertips felt like they were on fire.

Baby Doll, originally by Ella Fitzgerald, began to play, though it was an outtake by Gene Kelly that Jughead had fallen in love with the first day he overheard it at the Riverdale library when he was ten.

_Baby doll, you beautiful baby doll._

Veronica gently swayed her hips back and forth, stepping to the side every time her right foot shuffled. They were slowly moving in a circle, and honestly Jughead had completely forgotten they were in the middle of Pop’s with everybody staring at them in such a short period of time. All he could see, or really bothered to, was Veronica. He drank in her presence, her scent, the way her dark chocolate-y eyes searched through his, the way her arms wound loosely around his neck, the way a light that ironically had darkened into the background simply because it wasn’t a part of Veronica shimmered across her eyes. Every time he thought of her, his heart fluttered and his breathing became erratic.

At first he wasn’t sure about doing this, but now if he could do it until the day he died, he would happily oblige.

Veronica mouthed the lyrics, “ _I'm takin' you off the shelf. And showin' you off myself!_ ” It wasn’t until the next sentence that he realized it was leading to the end of the song, which surprised him because it felt like they had just started. But he was so wrapped up in looking at Veronica that time had just flew right past him. “ _Can't you see it now? You're taking me walkin', holding my parasol?_ ”

Jughead whispered along, happy to see Veronica smile as he joined in. “ _Aah honey, there's no use talkin', you're a beautiful baby doll! Baby doll, you're a beautiful baby baby doll!_ ”

The song finished and the dark studio-like background that had surrounded him and Veronica glitched back to Pop’s as customers in the diner began to clap and coo, ripping him out of the moment, out of his happy state, and him and Veronica began to separate even though given the chance he’d stay here with her for as long as she wanted.

Veronica looked up at him with a thankful grin. “See, it wasn’t that bad.”

Softly, he smiled back. “Yeah… you were right.”

“Thank you for doing it with me, even though you didn’t want to. It means a lot.”

“Of course, princess. Anytime.”

“I’m gonna go order and grab my phone, but i’ll meet you back at the booth.”

Jughead sent a nod of acknowledgement and turned to sit down in his spot. He stuffed his laptop into his bag, and watched her at the counter. He’d love for this to be a first date, but this wasn’t the right way to do it. He wanted to say the words, to set something up, something worthy of her. But until that moment, he’d enjoy the friday night at Pop’s with food and a pretty girl.


End file.
